Hunker down Houston, this could get ugly

Well, as I sit through yet another rain delay, we must thank the good folks of Houston for making it possible to build a retractable-roof stadium.

Nationals Park is beautiful, but it has no roof. Thus, this horrible 10-10 display is in a rain delay. If there is a baseball god, he’d make sure this game doesn’t resume today. Neither team deserves a victory, not today after such horrible play.

It’s time to brace for the worst, Houston Astros fans.

Jose Valverde is likely out until early to mid June, and I doubt if Doug Brocail returns before June. That means guys that normally would pitch the sixth and seventh now must pick up the seventh and eighth. And LaTroy Hawkins, who was going to pitch the eighth, now will pitch the ninth.

This bullpen was expected to be the strength of the team, and now it’s a weakness.

It’s not even May 6 yet, but the Astros bullpen’s tank may be close to empty. Even worse, it’s unclear how long Roy Oswalt will miss or how much he’ll be affected by the bone bruise in his right index finger.

It would be silly if the Astros try to acquire bullpen arms. Might as well see what the kids can do.

Lance Berkman says this is a mature team, which means this is an old team. Old teams get hurt, as the Astros have often this season.

If they’re 20 games out on July 31, I won’t be surprised. At that point, Valverde should be healthy and able to bring back a few good prospects via trade.

Suck it up, Houston, because this could be a 100-loss team.

How many losses do you expect from the Astros?

On the positive side, Bobby Heck is working hard trying to find quality prospects to draft. The Astros had a great draft last June, but you have to give Ed Wade at least two more years before you start seeing serious improvements. Remember Wade stepped into an organization that have been in decay for several years in the farm system.